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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Better Than Leaving

Thank you to everybody who helped me out. You guys make it so difficult to leave. Although I am going through some tough shit I'd rather not reveal at the moment, all at once, you guys are sure the best. You guys are much better than a damn support group. Oh yes you are. I realized how much of a close community we have created here. This is much more than "Christian fellowship" has. This is real people, with real feelings, saying real things. No "praying for ya'". ;) I've decided that it is much better to stay and continue interact with my new friends than take a leave for good. I've come to realize that it'll be better for my health to be able to continue trudging on with the Raytractors, and see where life gets me. All I know for sure is that I'll never feel alone. You guys, ALL of you guys, are the best. And I honestly mean that. We really HAVE become a close group. Lance, maybe you'd like to add one little thing to your blog description. We're a community. Perhaps? Any who, I've been convinced to stay. How can I not? I'd be crazy to leave. Now I know that help is here, and so are friends. [TAKE THAT RAY! SEE, RAYTRACTORS IS BETTER AND CLOSER!]...So, without further ado...Lets continue to stick it to 'em.-RS, Thank you all. I’d like to keep my “taking a break thread” to remember the support. You seriously all took time to write a note for me. Thank you all. Pat yourselves on the back. You’re great.

I feel kind of bad... I was heart set to leave. You guys are a convincing bunch... Hope you don't feel disappointed because I couldn't go through...

I've been taking a sort of break myself lately. Not a complete break, just much less posting so I only saw this today. You are one of the pillars of this particular community so it is great that you are staying. I suffered really bad depression myself for most of my teens and well into my twenties. I'm glad to say that I have come out the other side. I'm sure you will make through too. If you ever need someone to talk to about it, or anything else for that matter, don't hesitiate to drop me a line. My thoughts are with you. You are right, there is a fine bunch of people here and know we are all hoping for the best for you.

Like everybody else, I too am glad you're staying. You've made incisive comments that I enjoy reading. We do need you around here, and if there's anything I can do to help you when these kinds of problems arise, just gimme a holler. I have a little experience with depression myself.

That said, don't mess around with depression. It's a serious condition. I've had a problem with it as well for years. In my case, it's not life threatening--more like a low-grade infection you can never really get rid of. I've wrestled with what Churchill called The Black Dog (The Black Chihuahua in my case) long enough to know that losing interest in favorite activities is definitely a marker symptom. Get it looked into.

FWIW, be aware some pretty remarkable people have had this delightful little malady; people such as Churchill and Lincoln. So if you feel some kind of stigma, don't.

And finally, although I'm a staunch atheist and have been for more than 30 years, I still recognize that religion--any religion--is first and foremost a coping mechanism, and it seems to work for some people. It never did for me; I was never happy with the mental gymnastics you had to do to make sense of it. If you're desperate, just realize it's an option. I'll disagree with your newfound religious views, of course, but I have no problem overall with thinking Christians. My entire family is evangelical.

As you can obviously see from the comments in this and the other thread you are not alone.

Please keep in mind that tough experiences you are going through now others may have also gone through. If there comes a time when you decide to dicuss your issues I'm sure you will find a lot of compassion and understanding.

I'm glad to hear you're sticking around, Ranting; you do the best Terry Burton impression on teh intarweb (outside of all the other Terry Burtons, of course)

I'd also second much of the great advice that has been posted recently regarding depression. My fiance has a history with it and I'm only just beginning to understand the difficulties in dealing with it as a medical condition - keep doing what you love and, whatever you do, don't miss Hell's Kitchen on Fox!

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